McCarthy helps Rhinos shut out Riverhounds

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The Rochester Rhinos defeated the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 1-0, on Saturday at Highmark Stadium.

Alex Dixon scored in the 41st minute for his second goal of the season.

The Rhinos are on a seven-match unbeaten streak and have allowed just six goals all season.

The Rochester Rhinos were already among the elite defensive teams in USL Pro this season and a match with last-place Pittsburgh continued that strong trend.

Alex Dixon scored in the 41st minute and goalkeeper John McCarthy produced his fourth shutout of the season as the Rhinos defeated the Riverhounds, 1-0, at Highmark Stadium on Saturday.

The Rhinos (3-1-4) extended their unbeaten streak to seven with the victory.

Rochester, which has allowed just six goals in eight league matches, shut out Pittsburgh for the 13th time in the all-time series.

The Rhinos hold a 18-4-3 mark against the Riverhounds and have yet to allow a goal against them in the four matches Bob Lilley has been the coach.

"I thought we played really well," Lilley said. "Pittsburgh pressed more in the second half but I felt like we stood firm and created a few good chances (of our own). It would have been nice to get a second goal, but we did a good job of closing the game out in the last 20 minutes."

Dixon recorded his second goal of the season after a failed clear by the Riverhounds combined with a fortunate bounce.

A volley into the box turned into a 50-50 ball between the Pittsburgh goalie and Tony Walls.

The ball deflected to Colin Rolfe, who couldn't get off a clean shot, but another deflection set up Dixon at the penalty spot for a blast to the upper left corner.

"It was a good finish. (Dixon) had some good moments," Lilley said. "He and J.C. (Banks) are dangerous, especially in a wide area. That goal was important so we could get organized at half to close out the game without going in a defensive shell."

Pittsburgh (0-3-4) was able to generate multiple scoring chances in the second half, including a couple of set pieces in the final minutes, but the few clean looks it had were off target or cleared by the Rochester defense.